Echocardiographic determinants of right ventricular systolic dysfunction in non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy: Relation to functional status and plasma BNP levels

Aim: Right ventricular (RV) functions are well-known to play an important role in prognosis of patients with non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NICMP) similar to all forms of heart failure. We investigated the echocardiographic determinants of RV systolic dysfunction in patients with NICMP. Methods: Seventy-nine patients with angiographically normal coronary arteries (mean age: 50.5+12, mean EF: 31+4%) were enrolled in this study. Patients were divided into two groups according to their right ventricular (RV) systolic function determined by tissue Doppler systolic velocities (RV-Sm) as: Group A (RV-Sm >10 cm/s, n¼48) and Group B (RV-Sm <10 cm/s, n¼31)